Swing



Jan. 23, 1934. w McGOWEN 1,944,445

SWING Filed April 16, 1932 INVENTOR Q MM 19 y WM Patented Jan. 23, 1934 FF l SWING William R. McGiowen, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor t0 The McKay Company, Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 16, 1932. Serial No. 605,659

6 Claims.

My invention relates more particularly to swings of the type which are provided with flexible supporting members such as chains, ropes, or the like, but certain features thereof are applicable also to other types of seats such as chairs, etc.

One object of my invention is to provide a swing structure embodying operating levers which may be conveniently operated by the feet of the user.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for automatically shifting the foot-op erated member or members to inoperative or retracted position when they are not in use.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a swing of generally simplified and improved form.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a face view of a swing embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an end view thereof; Fig. 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view, on an en'- larged scale, of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a view taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4.

The swing is shown as carried at its front side by a pair of chains 6 and at its rear side by a pair of chains 7 that are connected to suitable supports such as a porch ceiling, an overhead frame or the like, in any well-known manner. A bar 8 is provided at each end of the swing. These bars may suitably be of spring steel and constitute part of the frame.

At their lower ends the bars are bent to form loops or eyes through which the ends of a tubular cross bar 9 extends, the bar being provided near each end with a bead 10. The eye of each bar 8 abuts against one of the beads 10, and is held in position against the same by means of a nut 11, the nut 11 at each end of the bar 9 having threaded engagement with a tie rod 12, and the heads of the nuts 11 abutting against the outer edges of the bars 8, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3.

A screw 13 extends into and has threaded engagement with the end wall of each nut 11, a lock nut 14 being provided to maintain the screw 13 firmly in position.

The upper or rear ends of the bars 8 are bent to form eyes through which extends a tubular bar 15 that corresponds to the bar 9, the ends of the bar 15 being connected to the bars 8 by nuts 11a and a tie rod 12a that correspond to the nuts 11 and tie rod 12. A strip 17 has its ends wrapped around the tubular bars 9 and 15 and fastened to the body of the strip, as shown more clearly at 17a in 2. This strip is shown as of flexible material, such as canvas, but may be of any other suitable material. Cushions 18 are employed, the forward edges of such cushco ions being disposed behind the cross bar 9, and thereby held against displacement. The rear chains 7 are hooked over the ends of screws 130; that are threaded into the nuts 11a.

suspending bars 19 are pivotally connected to the screws 13, at points adjacentto their lower ends and at their upper ends have connection with the front chains 6.

A lever 21 is pivotally connected at its upper end to each of the screws l3,the opening through 50 the lever being elongated to permit slight vertical movements thereof relative to .the suspending bar 19, as hereinafter explained. Foot rails 22 are connected at their ends to the levers 21 and each lever 21 is provided with a pin or stud 24 that extends through an open-sided slot 25 in the lower portion of each suspending bar 19. A coil spring 2'? is provided at each end of the swing and has its upper end hooked to one of the chains 6, and its lower end hooked to one of the studs 24. The springs 2'7, have suliicient tension to raise the levers 21 and the foot rails 22, such lifting movement being permitted by reason of the elongated holes in the upper ends of the levers 21 through which the screws 13 extend.

When the levers 21 are raised, the unbalanced weight, resulting from the horizontally-extending lower portions of the levers and the rails 22 carried thereby, swings the levers 21 inc. clockwise direction, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, thestuds 24 during such movement being carried into the inclined portions ofthe slots 25. The swinging movement of the levers 21 is further augmented by the tensionof the springs 27, since the studs '24 to which the lower ends of, the springs are connected, are oiiset rearwardly of the pivot bolts 13, thereby tending to swing the levers in a rearward direction. Leaf springs 29 secured to the lower ends of the suspending bars 19 frictionally engage the levers 21 when the levers are in their retracted position, as shown in Fig. 2, to resistswinging movement of said levers and the foot rail. 7

When the swing is not in use, the levers 21 and their foot rails 22 will be held in retracted position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The rails 22 will therefore not be in position to trip a person walking to the swing, and such person 110 can more conveniently seat himself in the swing, since the foot rail will not interfere with movement of his feet. After a person is seated in the swing, he may conveniently start it by pushing his feet against the floor. He will then raise his feet and put them upon the foot rails 22, which will cause the levers 21 to be drawn down against the tension of the springs 27, thus causing the pins 24 to enter between the vertical walls of the slots 25 and tilt the foot rails to the front of the swing seat. The vertical walls of the slot 25 prevent swinging of the levers 21 relative to the suspending bars 19, because the studs 24 hold the levers 21 against pivotal movement on the screws 13. By exerting slight pressure with his feet, the sitter can initiate and continue swinging movement of the seat, without the necessity of placing his feet on the floor or pulling on the chains with his hands.

When a person desires to leave the swing he will simply raise his feet from the foot rails 22', whereupon the springs 27 will lift the levers 21 until the studs 24 are clear of the vertical walls of the slots 25, and the overbalanced weight, as above-explained, will cause the lower ends of the levers and the foot rails to swing rearward- 1y so that the user may place his feet on the floor.

Furthermore, even if the swing has not completely come to rest, the'foot rails will not strike the legs of the user when he is leaving the swing, both because the foot rails tend to re- 7 main in retracted position by reason of the un- Lin balanced weight referred to, and because the levers 21 cannot oscillate relative to the swing, against the friction of the springs 29.

The foot rail 22 and the means for swinging it to retracted position, out of the way of the person approaching or leaving the swing, can, of course, be applied also to chairs where it is desiredv that a foot rest be used. For example, where foot or leg rests are employed in 1 connection with reclining chairs, the user frequently finds it awkward to enter and leave the chair, by reason'of the foot rest which projects at the front thereof. By a suitable spring and latch arrangement similar to that shown in the drawing, the foot rest would be releasably locked in forward position and automatically be drawn to retracted position when relieved of foot or leg pressure.

I claim as my invention:

1. Swing structure comprising a seat, flexible suspending members for the rear side of the seat, suspending bars pivotally connected to the seat near the front side thereof, means flexibly suspending said bars, levers pivotally connected to s the seat on axes coincident with the axes of the said bars, means detachably locking each of the levers to one of the bars whereby oscillation of the levers will effect oscillation of the bars, a-foot rail carried by the said levers, and

7 means for automatically releasing the locking means when pressure is released from the foot rail.

2. Swing structure comprising a seat, flexible suspending members for the rear side of the seat, suspending bars pivotally connected to the seat near the front side thereof, means flexibly suspending said bars, levers pivotally connected to the seat on axes coincident with the axes of the said bars, means detachably locking each of the levers to one of the bars whereby oscillation of the levers will effect oscillation of the bars, a foot rail carried by the said levers, and means automatically releasing the locking means when pressure is released from the foot rail, the center of gravity of the said levers and the foot rail being located forwardly of the seat when the levers are in locked position.

3. Swing structure comprising a. seat, flexible suspending members for the rear side of the seat, suspending bars pivotally connected to the seat near the front side thereof, means for flexibly suspending said bars, levers pivotally connected to the seat on axes coincident with the axes of the said bars, means detachably locking each of the levers to one of the bars whereby oscillation of the levers will effect oscillation of the bars, a foot rail carried by the said levers, and yieldable means automatically releasing the locking means when pressure is released from the foot rail, the said yieldable means being placed under tension through movement of the parts to locked position.

4. Swing structure comprising a seat, flexible supporting members at the rear side of the seat, suspending bars pivotally connected to the seat near the front side thereof and extending in a generally vertical direction, flexible supporting means for said bars, levers pivotally connected to the seat adjacent to their upper ends and having lost-motion connection with the suspending bars, a sliding connection between the levers and the seat for rendering said levers movable longitudinally of themselves relative to the seat, a foot rail carried by the lower ends of said levers, means for yieldably holding the levers in their uppermost positions, and means locking said levers to the suspending bars when the levers are held in their lowermost positions.

5. Swing structure comprising a seat, suspending members for the front and rear sides of the seat, a suspending bar connected at one of its ends to a suspending member and pivotally connected to the seat, an operating lever depending below the seat and having lost-motion connection with the said bar, means automatically locking the operating lever to the suspending bar at one extreme position of lost-motion movement by the lever, to effect transmission of rocking movement by the lever to the suspending bar, and a foot rest on the said lever.

6. Swing structure comprising a seat, suspending members for the front and rear sides of the seat, a suspending bar connected at one of its ends to a suspending member and pivotally connected to the seat, an operating lever depending below the seat and having lost-motion connection with the said bar, means releasably locking the lever to the said bar when the lever is in-a given position, to effect transmission of rocking movement by the lever to the suspending bar, a yieldable device for shifting the said lever and breaking said locking connection, anda foot rest whereby the operating lever may be moved to looking position against the tension of said device.

WILLIAM R. MCGOWEN. 

